The best walking cities

By combining huge metropolises with much smaller cities, the list veers off the rails. What would make far more sense would be to classify walkability based on the number of inhabitants, number of square miles, number of outdoor parking spaces, etc.

Placing cities like LA and Austin high on the list simply because they have designated walking zones is pointless. These are modern cities built for cars, where any concessions to pedestrians are token, at best. The fact they have a few cages one can sit in traffic for an hour just to get to doesn't make them walkable.

Also, the gimmick of giving a city points for having a couple of heritage trails is a disingenuous way to pad the list. You walk it a few times and you're done. The value of urban walkability should be measured by the ease of getting around on foot to the maximum number of locations around town, with the help of public transit. That's why the top 6 cities on the list are the only 6 US cities with extensive subway systems. They are the only US cities that can compare even remotely with European cities for ease of access without being shuttled there by cars, or, as Edward Abbey called them, chrome tyrants.

Bunk.

San Fransisco is a joke. Do the people that write these ever go to the places they list. There are so many hills in SF that even people who live here laugh at the fact they are listed # 1

The photo on this page is taken on the Sea Point Beachfront promenade in Cape Town, South Africa. I imagined I'd have seen a photo taken somewhere in one of the USA cities!

I love Baltimore but Charleston, SC should be on the list and likely in the top 10. The historic district downtown is just stunning with plenty of sidewalks that border the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.

Actually Denver has public transit 7 out of 7 days of the week....I would say that downtown Denver is very much a walking city...

low crime in Rochester NY? It was the homicide capital a few years ago... I wouldn't walk there by myself.

The roads in the hills of LA are a no-mans-land for pedestrians. No sidewalks, winding and narrow. bumper-to-bumper parking, a forbidding place for children walking to school. This is last century's heritage that off-street-parking would permit space for a child to walk to his school. If your list was for the worst city for pedestrians, LA would rank last of the last.

L.A. and Santa Ana, Whoa, Boy....Been assaulted 3 times in LA. in broad daylight, minding my own business. Santa Ana, another Whoa Boy.....biggest per capita of illegal aliens in US.....they have overrun a beautifu city and made it into another central American sewer....Avoid at all costs.

hey arscuore, the homicide capital moved down the thruway to Syracuse, N.Y. which boast a nice formerly dead lake with a walking path where someone was killed about a year or so ago. and there is no safe place for walkers or motorist around Syracuse anymore shootings abound all over the city and sometimes the suburbs. I think it is funny that New York City is now safer than Syracuse and you couldn't pay me enough to go there and I wish I could afford to get out of the syracuse area.

Umm, Denver has public transportation EVERY day, not 6 out of 7 days. It is extremely walker friendly with the Light Rail lines, pedestrian malls, and now the rental bike stands around downtown for those wanting to take a ride around the city. Plus, there are tons of parks and trails in and around downtown, foot bridges over the Platte river and Cherry Creek.... I could go on and on. I love my city :)

One of the worst walking cities: Houston, TX.
Try walking there, and you'll gamble with getting hit by a car.

Have walked all my life and also have visited many of the above cities, however, one think has been overlooked in this article about most of these "walking cities" is that they are not safe and you literally take your life in your hands when walking the street of these places.....

Cleveland should be included in the list.
The Cleveland Metroparks system includes 16 "reservations" forming the "Emerald Necklace" which encircles the city. Included are about - 60 Miles of paved biking and hiking trails, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, a marina, toboggan chutes, several golf courses, and riding stables.

That photo used as an illustration is from no city in the US.

Leaving Austin, TX off this list....??!! It looked more like a quick listing of the largest cities in the US rather than what the headline promised.

Have you walked in Manhattan? Central Park may be okay in the daytime, but the city is a great place to be run down by cars. I like the city, but walking there is not really that safe. I walk there but I never feel that safe except on the Upper East Side.

NICOLE: I'm originally from San Jose (and I can see why it made the list) but I'm with you, there's no way IN HELL I would walk, let alone drive in Cokeland, er, ah, Oakland.

Seattle should not be on this list. Yes, it does have some walking trails that used to be train tracks but this city is way behind on sidewalks.
I did see that someone else thinks that Seattle has great sidewalks, but the lack of sidewalks was the first thing I've noticed when I moved here 13 years ago.
It also has some of the stupidest politicians running things. They neglect the basics while spending money on things that are not even remotely a functional priority.
Frankly, I hate this city and it cannot wait for the job market to improve so that I can get away from here.

portland or shouldnt be on there its the dangerious place for a woman to walk theres tons of crazy druggys that can take advantage of you and potanchal gang members i would never walk in portland alone